My Name Is Vendetta (Il mio nome è vendetta) is a hardcore Italian language revenge thriller about a former mafia enforcer who sets on the path of revenge, after the murder of his wife and brother-in-law. The film is directed by Cosimo Gomez and written by him, Sandrone Dazieri and Andrea Nobile. Moreover, it stars Alessandro Gassmann stars in the titular role.
The complete cast of the action flick includes Ginevra Francesconi as Sofia, Remo Girone as the Mafia Don, Marcello Mazzarella, Sinja Dieks, Alessio Praticò, Gabriele Falsetta and Marco Boriero. Furthermore, Vittorio Omodei Zorini serves as the cinematographer of the movie, while Alessio Doglione heads the editing department.
-My Name is Vendetta Review Does Not Contain Spoilers-
The action-packed movie starts with a brief context about the retired mafia henchman Santo, who now lives with her wife and teenage daughter Sofia, in a secluded and safe space. Moreover, the former member of the criminal family has succeeded in keeping his past life a secret from his daughter and prefers to live the rest of his life in the same manner.
One day, Sofia uploads an Instagram story of her father (without his consent) and invites a series of lethal troubles in their peaceful world. A simple social media story, shared with her friends exposes the identity of Santo to his enemies and creates a ruckus of everything. What happens next, is a slightly average version of Cronenberg’s A History of Violence, that eventually redeems itself in the end.
The entire revenge setup of the flick is an age-old story, that works only when both action and screenplay are equivalently powerful. However, My Name is Vendetta lacks in the latter part but makes up for the mess in the former one. The film lives and breathes action sequences and doesn’t emote all the right kind of emotion, until the end of the second half.
Almost everything is predictable in the story, but the execution itself saves it from crumbling. The director, Cosimo Gomez, takes all the elements of a stereotypical revenge saga, and then successfully points them in the right direction, with redeemable flaws. Notably, the ending montage over a phone call is something that I didn’t expect.
Also Read: Willow (2022) Review: Disney+ Series Relies on Nostalgia, Has Some Captivating Moments
The acting part is well-balanced throughout the movie and only falls flat in the hospital scene. Apart from that, the combo of Alessandro Gassmann and Ginevra Francesconi holds the fort quite convincingly and produces an impactful final result.
I was really impressed with the way things panned out in this Italian action flick, but couldn’t quite get the facial recognition technology that tracked someone from their Instagram story. Maybe’s it a cool warning to not post pictures of anyone, without their consent (Who knows they might be another henchman?).
My Name Is Vendetta Final Thoughts
This action-packed ride is a must-try and won’t disappoint you with your time. Although it has few moments of distraction, the montage-filled climax will definitely make up for it. Also, it’s a friendly reminder of social media ethics.
You can stream the movie on Netflix. Let us know your thoughts about it in the comment section below.
Also Read: Christmas Full of Grace Review: This Christmas Flick is Absolutely Trash